influence of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) on cell-mediated immunity in tench Tinca tinca (L.): in vitro and in vivo study

[graphic removed] -Hydroxy- [graphic removed] -methyl butyrate (HMB) has been shown to counteract many of the negative effects of intensive fish production methods and results in increased growth and protection against diseases. In the present study, the in vitro and in vivo effect of HMB on the immunocompetence cell activity in tench Tinca tinca (L.) was examined. In the in vitro study pronephric phagocytes and lymphocytes were isolated from the fish and grown in culture medium (RPMI-1640) containing 0, 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 or [graphic removed] g HMB cm-³ of medium. The effects of HMB on the respiratory burst activity (RBA), the potential killing activity (PKA) and lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by concanavalin A (ConA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were examined. The in vitro study showed that HMB increased the RBA and PKA of the phagocytes, compared to the medium over that of cells grown without HMB. Lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by ConA and LPS was also increased approximately when HMB was added to the culture medium at concentrations between 10 and [graphic removed] g HMB cm-³. In the in vivo study fish were fed daily with pellets containing HMB at doses 0, 10, 25 and 50 mg kg-¹ body weight day-¹. The study showed that HMB statistically increased the RBA and PKA and highest activity at 50 mg kg-¹ body weight day-¹ were observed. Also lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by ConA and LPS were maximally stimulated at dose 50 mg kg-¹ body weight day-¹. In conclusion, the current study shows that HMB could potentially improve immunocompetence cell activity in tench through increased cell proliferation and functionality.